On a conference call with the media recently, selection committee Chairman Gary Walters was asked, "Does margin of defeat matter?" and he responded, "As it relates to the RPI and our overall process, the margin of defeat does not matter."

The follow-up question was, "So a loss is a loss?"

Walters responded: "A loss is a loss, yup. We don't take margin of defeat or victory into account. That's not a factor in the RPI".